July 2010

It was January 19, 2009, and I was sitting in the dentist’s chair getting ready for my first crown. All I could do was sit back and look at Dr. Tsang and his assistant working above me. It’s actually entertaining; rarely do people get so close to your face, yet no personal space issues seem to arise.

“In their hearts human beings plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps” (Proverbs 16:9). After getting married in December 1996, Andy and I began planning our course. We decided 3 years was an appropriate length of time to wait before beginning our family of five.

Mommy and Daddy sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g. First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes Mommy with a baby carriage.” This familiar playground rhyme encapsulates the way most people expect life to unfold: meet, marry, multiply.
But what happens when the baby carriage remains empty?

A unique summer youth outreach is starting its second decade at a new lake. The experience is called “The Ark,” and got its name from the early years when Willow Park Church in Kelowna used a Shuswap Lake houseboat. Willow Park youth are encouraged to invite an unchurched friend to come along for a week on the water – and it’s a ministry that produces results. This summer, thanks to the availability of property at Osoyoos, the party moves south – to Osoyoos Lake, just north of the B.C.-Washington border.

Planting Churches in the 21st CenturyAuthor: Stuart Murray“I am convinced that church planting is crucial for the continuing mission of the church and the health of the Christian community,” writes veteran church planter and founding member of the U.K. Anabaptist Network, Stuart Murray. He acts as a trainer, coach, mentor, and consultant to those involved in church planting.

Re:connectionsAuthor: Wilma DerksenWe are connected to the people who hurt us even if we do not realize it. This is one of the messages of Re:connections, a joint project between Mennonite Central Committee and Bethany Bible College, Hepburn, Sask.

On the heels of Canada’s record-breaking 14 gold medals at the 2010 Olympic Games, Scott Street MB Church, St. Catharines, Ont., held its own winter competition during spring break, March 15–19, 2010. Unit #9, an empty apartment available for community organizations at 10 Old Pine Trail, was the centre of activity. Many of the residents at the 80-unit housing complex run by Niagara Regional Housing are recent immigrants, single parents, or unemployed.

The energy of a college ministry tour, the reconciliation work of a peace and justice agency, and the life experience of an author converged in the Re:connections drama tour in Saskatchewan, Apr. 27–May 3. Over seven days, Bethany Players performed nine times to audiences from Prince Albert to Swift Current, Sask.

Text Examined: 1 Kings 10:14-11:13 – “As we come to the end of our study of 1 Kings, we turn again to the book of Deuteronomy. Old Testament interpreters believe that Deuteronomy’s mishpat (justice regulations) can be used to evaluate Israel’s – and, in particular, Solomon’s – actions. In order to conduct this evaluation, we recognize that none of the Deuteronomic laws is more significant than the Law of the King (Deuteronomy 17:14–20).”